Consumer Reports: Five grocery sites that really deliver

If you've never bought groceries online — or if you have and found it unsatisfying — now is a great time to give it a try, says ShopSmart, the shopping magazine from the publisher of Consumer Reports.

ShopSmart looked at five national companies. They all let you browse food categories as you would in store aisles or search by keyword or UPC. The trade-offs: Some sites require a minimum purchase, shipping fees can be steep and most offer only dry goods.

Best for gourmet items. There are hundreds of thousands of shelf-stable groceries at Amazon, but the site really shines in the gourmet and specialty foods area. Need macadamia nut oil? Or pomegranate glaze? Amazon has it. And it's easy to shop for special diets. You can search for vegan, vegetarian, kosher and gluten-free products.

Shipping. Free on many orders of $35 and more (not all items you choose may qualify). If you subscribe to regular delivery (every one, two, three or four months), orders are discounted and shipping is free. If you're an Amazon Prime member, your $99 fee includes Prime Pantry, which lets you order up to 45 pounds of groceries for a $5.99 flat delivery fee; a chart shows you how full your box is as you shop.

Bummer. Be sure to comparison shop on products you buy regularly; you might find that some prices aren't as competitive as you might expect.

2. Netgrocer.com

Best for frozen foods and some fresh produce. In addition to dry staples, which include organic and kosher goods, you'll find dairy foods such as butter and cheese; a wide offering of frozen items such as pizza, entrees and veggies; and a limited selection of produce, including garlic and onions.

Shipping. Starts at $9.99 but can quickly climb, depending on your distance from the site's New Jersey headquarters and the cost of your order. For example, it costs $36 to ship a $100 order to the western U.S.

Bummer. Some products don't have pictures, so you can't see what you're getting.

3. MyBrands.com

Best for hard-to-find items not available in most regular stores. Looking for Blue Dragon Fish Sauce or Albers Quick Grits? You'll find those and other ethnic and regional favorites here, plus hundreds of shelf-stable mainstream items.

Shipping. Rates are based on order weight and the delivery ZIP code.

Bummers. There's no ingredients or nutritional info. And if you don't know what you're looking for, the brand-centric navigation can make it hard to figure out where to start.

4. ShopFoodEx.com

Best for shopping aisle by aisle like a regular supermarket. The site claims to offer 11,000-plus shelf-stable items, and you can shop in categories just like you were trolling the supermarket. There's even a "checkout lane" where you'll find gum and candy!

Shipping. Starts at $8.99 based on order size and your proximity to Virginia (where orders originate), but it goes up steeply. On orders of more than $100, shipping is discounted by a third -- it can cost as little as $7.25 to the mid-Atlantic states or up to $33.65 to the West Coast.

Best for low prices (at Walmart.com/cp/Food/976759). Expect the same low prices that the chain is known for on a wide selection of brand-name packaged foods, including organic, gluten-free and other specialty categories, which are available in standard and bulk sizes. ShopSmart notes that you'll save even more if you buy the in-house brands.

Shipping. Free if you spend $50 or more.

Bummers. This site is not set up exclusively for online shopping; it includes perishables (meats and frozen items, for example) that are sold in stores only. Unit pricing isn't available on every item, and printable coupons are good only for in-store items.